Chhatrapati Shivaji , an inspiration for Indian Freedom Struggle

Chhatrapati Shivaji was an inspiration for freedom fighters throughout the length and breadth of India during the freedom struggle. From Punjab in the north to Tamil Nadu in the south and from Gujarat in the west to Assam in the east , we find a host of nationalists invoking Chhatrapati Shivaji to inspire people to rise against British oppression. Famous luminaries such as Lala Lajpatrai , better known as Punjab Kesri and Rabindranath Tagore have written about the great man in glowing terms. Plays have been staged during those days in Bengal and Assam , where the authors have aroused nationalist passion through characters representing Shivaji. Chhatrapati Shivaji was thus a truly national figure.

What enabled a seventeenth century warrior to capture the imagination of so many across India ? It is the personality of Shivaji which made this possible. The values he espoused were evergreen , not merely limited to the seventeenth century. In many matters, he was far ahead of his times. His treatment of women was exemplary , at a time when enslaving the opponents women after war was common among the Mughals as were expansive janazas. He set up salaried armies , at a time when mansabadari was the norm. The greatest facet of Shivaji’s personality was perhaps recognising the inherent flaws in the thriving mansabdari system. That it depended on a strong ruler and never aroused any pride for the land among the mansabdars and soldiers. The Mughal empire was simply a bunch of mansabdars forever trying to earn brownie points over each other.

To go from this system , to one which inculcated pride in the land and make pronouncements in favour of the rayat or people needed immense courage and farsightedness. It is for this reason , that the ideal of swarajya as espoused by Shivaji was readily adopted by freedom fighters.

It is hence indeed sad , that such a person who had rightfully acquired “national” status in the days leading to freedom has now been relegated to one province. NCERT books give a grand total of four lines on Chhatrapati Shivaji , and in general the consensus is that he is Maharashtra’s hero , not India. Which brings me to another point – about how our heroes , save a select few adhering to particular ideology, are heaviy regionalised. Rajasthan’s Rana Pratap , Tamil Nadu’s Raja Raja Chola , Maharashtra’s Shivaji , Assam’s Lachit .. so on .

It is indeed sad , that a person who turned India’s fortunes one hundred eighty degrees, is today hardly known outside Maharashtra, except perhaps a chance encounter with the name.

Anyways , I digress.

Following are words of various Indians inspired by Chhatrapati Shivaji